Richmond, VA - At its November 3 meeting, the City of Richmond's Planning Commission advanced two key components of The Shockoe Project, approving the conceptual plans for a memorial to the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground and the final design for Reconciliation Plaza improvements.

Earlier this month, the Urban Design Committee (UDC) reviewed both projects and recommended approval to the Planning Commission. Together, these milestones represent continued progress toward realizing the City's vision for a unified Shockoe campus that honors the truth of Richmond's history and creates space for reflection, learning, and healing.

"With each step, we move closer to creating spaces that acknowledge the full truth of Richmond's history and invite meaningful reflection," said Leo Mantey, City of Richmond General Manager, The Shockoe Project. "These actions mark an important milestone in that journey."

The memorial will honor Richmond's first municipal burying ground for free and enslaved people of color (Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground). Active from the late 1700s to the early 1800s, it is the final resting place of an unknown number of Richmonders. The memorial design, now conceptually approved, will return for final review in 2026.

The Reconciliation Plaza improvements (also part of The Shockoe Project) underscore the City's ongoing commitment to maintaining and enhancing historic sites that tell our collective story. The plaza is home to one of three identical Reconciliation Statues, symbolizing a shared global commitment to honesty and forgiveness. The other statues are located in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and Cotonou, Republic of Benin, two cities that - like Richmond - played central roles in the transatlantic slave trade.

Together, these projects further The Shockoe Project's mission to link Richmond's historic sites, tell the story of the domestic slave trade, and preserve these places of memory as spaces for truth and reflection.

About The Shockoe Project

The Shockoe Project is a City of Richmond initiative. Its epicenter is in the Shockoe Valley, where hundreds of thousands of human beings were bought and sold. The project includes established projects and proposed projects including: the Richmond Slave Trail, the Reconciliation Statue, Shockoe Institute (under construction), National Slavery Museum, Lumpkin's Slave Jail Pavilion, a memorial honoring the hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans traded here, a memorial honoring the African Burial Ground, Winfree Cottage relocation and renovation and the memorialization of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground.